USA Swimming 2008 Olympic Trials Schedule, TV Schedule, and Results

UPDATE:

Following the conclusion of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Swimming in Omaha, Neb., USA Swimming named the complete roster for the 2008 U.S. Olympic swim team. In addition to the 43 athletes named to the team, the swim team's coaching staff was finalized.

The best swimmers in the USA will be at the Qwest Center in Omaha Nebraska, from 29 June through 6 July, trying to finish in the top two spots to qualify for the US team swimming at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

The maximum Team size is 26 male and 26 female athletes.

The order of events for the 2008 USA Swimming Olympic Trials is the same as the event schedule that will be used at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. There is a difference, though - in Beijing the Preliminary sessions will begin at 6:30PM, the Finals at 10:00AM.

• Start Lists and live results from the Olympic Trials will be available from OmegaTiming

• Psyche Sheet (The psyche sheet is a list of the swimmers in their entered events - they might not swim in every event listed)

• NBC Videocasts of the 2008 Olympic Trials

• The Official Speedo USA LZR Racer Swim Suit for Olympic Swimmers

How Does the Olympic Swimming Trials Meet Work?

The meet is set-up like the Olympic Games swimming competition. Events that are 200 meters or shorter will have:

1. Preliminary (all swimmers) swim sessions
2. Semifinal (fastest 16 from preliminaries) swim sessions
3. Final (fastest 8 from semifinals) swim sessions

Events 400 meters and longer only have:

1. Preliminary (all swimmers) swim sessions
2. Final (fastest 8 from preliminaries) swim sessions

There are no relay events contested at the Olympic trials; swimmers qualify for relay spots based on their performances in individual events.

In the preliminaries, all of the qualified swimmers swim, trying to finish among the top 16 by time; those top 16 swimmers advance to the semi-finals. The last three heats of each preliminary event (the fastest 24 swimmers by entry time) will have swimmers in lanes using circle seeding, with the fastest swimmer placed in lane 4 of the last preliminary heat, then the second fastest swimmer placed in lane 4 of the second to last preliminary heat, then the third fastest swimmer placed in lane 4 of the third to last preliminary heat. The fourth fastest swimmer is placed in lane 5 of the fastest heat, the fifth fastest into lane 5 of the second to last heat, and the sixth fastest into lane 5 of the third to last heat. That same pattern of sorting the top 24 swimmers among the last three heats is followed until all of them are assigned lanes.

In the semifinals (fastest 16 swimmers from the preliminary heats), the swimmers are trying to get one of the 8 fastest times so they can advance to the finals. The swimmers are seeded with the fastest swimmer in lane 4 of the last heat, the second fastest swimmer in lane 4 of the first heat, the third fastest swimmer in lane 5 of the last heat, etc.

In finals, the swimmers aim to get that spot on the US Olympic Team. The top two swimmers will usually make the team (if they meet the Olympic Trials Qualifying time), with the top four swimmers making it on the team in the 100 meter and 200 meter freestyle events, generally two for the individual events and two more as relay swimmers. Remember, the maximum Team size is 26 male and 26 female athletes. It is a little more complicated than that - the USA Swimming Athlete Selection Procedures for the 2008 Olympics is 31 pages long.

USA Swimming 2008 Olympic Trials Schedule and TV Schedule
Qwest Center Omaha
29 June - 6 July 2008

Sunday, June 29
TV Coverage: 8:00-9:00 pm ET, NBC

• 11 a.m. - Preliminaries
  Men's 400 IM
  Women's 100 Fly
  Men's 400 Free
  Women's 400 IM
  Men's 100 Breast
  
• 7 p.m. - Semifinals/Finals
  Men's 400 IM - Final
  Women's 100 Fly - Semifinals
  Men's 400 Free - Final
  Women's 400 IM - Final
  Men's 100 Breast - Semifinals
  

Monday, June 30
TV Coverage: 8:00-9:00 pm ET, USA

• 11 a.m. - Preliminaries
  Women's 100 Back
  Men's 200 Free
  Women's 100 Breast
  Men's 100 Back
  Women's 400 Free
  
• 7 p.m. - Semifinals/Finals
  Women's 100 Back - Semifinals
  Men's 200 Free - Semifinals
  Women's 100 Fly - Final
  Men's 100 Breast - Final
  Women's 100 Breast - Semifinals
  Men's 100 Back - Semifinals
  Women's 400 Free - Final
  

Tuesday, July 1
TV Coverage: 8:00-9:00 pm ET, USA

• 11 a.m. - Preliminaries
  Women's 200 Free
  Men's 200 Fly
  Women's 200 IM
  
• 7 p.m. - Semifinals/Finals
  Women's 200 Free - Semifinals
  Men's 200 Free - Final
  Women's 100 Back - Final
  Men's 100 Back - Final
  Women's 100 Breast - Final
  Men's 200 Fly - Semifinals
  Women's 200 IM - Semifinals
  

Wednesday, July 2
TV Coverage: 8:00-9:00 pm ET, USA

• 11 a.m. - Preliminaries
  Men's 100 Free
  Women's 200 Fly
  Men's 200 Breast
  
• 7 p.m. - Semifinals/Finals
  Men's 100 Free - Semifinals
  Women's 200 Free - Final
  Men's 200 Fly - Final
  Women's 200 Fly - Semifinals
  Men's 200 Breast - Semifinals
  Women's 200 IM - Final
  

Thursday, July 3
TV Coverage: 8:00-9:00 pm ET, USA

• 11 a.m. - Preliminaries
  Women's 100 Free
  Men's 200 Back
  Women's 200 Breast
  Men's 200 IM
  
• 7 p.m. - Semifinals/Finals
  Men's 200 Breast - Final
  Women's 100 Free - Semifinals
  Men's 200 Back - Semifinals
  Women's 200 Fly - Final
  Men's 100 Free - Final
  Women's 200 Breast - Semifinals
  Men's 200 IM - Semifinals
  

Friday, July 4
TV Coverage: 8:00-9:00 pm ET, USA

• 11 a.m. - Preliminaries
  Men's 50 Free
  Women's 800 Free
  Men's 100 Fly
  Women's 200 Back
  
• 7 p.m. - Semifinals/Finals
  Men's 50 Free - Semifinals
  Women's 200 Breast - Final
  Men's 200 Back - Final
  Women's 200 Back - Semifinals
  Men's 200 IM - Final
  Women's 100 Free - Final
  Men's 100 Fly - Semifinals
  

Saturday, July 5
TV Coverage: 8:00-9:00 pm ET, NBC

• 11 a.m. - Preliminaries
  Women's 50 Free
  Men's 1500 Free
  
• 7 p.m. - Semifinals/Finals
  Women's 200 Back - Final
  Men's 100 Fly - Final
  Women's 800 Free - Final
  Men's 50 Free - Final
  Women's 50 Free - Semifinals
  

Sunday, July 6
TV Coverage: 8:00-9:00 pm ET, NBC

• 11 a.m. - Preliminaries
  No session
• 7 p.m. - Finals
  Women's 50 Free - Final
  Men's 1500 Free - Final